1. South Korea’s Kospi hits record high as Samsung and SK Hynix soar on OpenAI partnership
South Korea’s Kospi index jumped more than 3% Thursday to hit an all-time high, lifted by gains in heavyweight Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Meanwhile, the Kosdaq rose 0.95%. South Korea’s consumer price index climbed 2.1% year on year in September, more than the 2% rise expected by economists in a Reuters poll. The latest reading compares with the 1.7% growth in August. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index advanced 0.6%, while the Topix fell 0.54%. Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 surged 1.14%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 1.30%. Shares of Zijin Gold skyrocketed nearly 12%, building on gains for two consecutive days since its Hong Kong trading debut Tuesday. The Hang Seng Tech index climbed 2.08%.
2. S&P 500 closes above 6,700 for first time as traders bet on short-lived shutdown
The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Wednesday as traders were hopeful that a U.S. federal government shutdown would be brief and possibly have little impact on the economy. The broad market index gained 0.34% to close at 6,711.20. Earlier, it had hit a new all-time intraday high. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.42% to settle at 22,755.16, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 43.21 points, or 0.09%, to finish at 46,441.10. The U.S. government shut down after attempts made by the Republican-controlled Senate to secure a temporary spending bill failed Tuesday. Democrats are hoping to use the measure to codify an extension of health care tax credits for millions of Americans.
3. Gold hits fresh all-time high as U.S. government shutdown dents risk appetite
Gold prices soared to new highs Wednesday just shy of $4,000 per ounce, as the U.S. government entered its first shutdown in almost seven years after lawmakers failed to reach a deal on government funding. Gold futures closed at a record $3,897.50 per ounce while spot gold was last trading at $3,866.66. Prices are up nearly 50% since the start of the year. While the impact of government shutdowns on markets is usually minimal, the timing of this one is significant. Critical U.S. jobs data due to be published on Friday will be delayed, clouding the outlook for the Federal Reserve just weeks ahead of its next meeting. President Donald Trump has also threatened to use the shutdown to cut “a lot” of federal employees.
4. Oil slides on US and Asia economic worries, expected OPEC+ production increase
Oil prices fell Wednesday, down for a third straight day as the U.S. government shutdown fed worries about the global economy, while traders expected more oil supply to come on the market with a planned output boost by OPEC+ next month. Brent crude futures fell 68 cents, or 1.03%, to close at $65.35 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 59 cents, or 0.95%, to settle at $61.78. Traders expect OPEC+ to boost production in November by about the same as the 500,000 barrels per day hike in September, even as U.S. and Asian demand start to decline, Rystad analyst Janiv Shah said. OPEC+, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied producers like Russia, could agree to raise oil production by up to 500,000 bpd in November, triple the increase made for October, as Saudi Arabia seeks to reclaim market share.
5. Supreme Court lets Fed Governor Lisa Cook keep job pending January oral argument
The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to remain in her post pending oral arguments in January on whether President Donald Trump has legal cause to fire her. The court’s move is a blow to Trump, who has repeatedly and unsuccessfully asked federal courts to allow him to terminate Cook from the Fed’s Board of Governors without delay while her lawsuit challenging her removal is pending. Trump has cited claims that Cook committed mortgage fraud as his reason for firing her from the seven-member board. But his first effort to remove her in August came after he, for months, had unsuccessfully pressured her, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other members of the central bank to cut interest rates.
6. Trump administration cancels nearly $8 billion in climate funding to blue states: Vought
The Trump administration has cancelled nearly $8 billion in funding for climate-related projects in primarily Democratic-controlled states, a top administration official said on Wednesday. The move came hours after the same official, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, revealed that the Trump administration had frozen about $18 billion in federal funding to two major infrastructure projects in New York City. “Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled,” Vought wrote in a post on the social media site X, on the same day the federal government shut down after Congress did not pass a stopgap funding bill.
7. Trump says Harvard deal is close, university will pay $500 million
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration was close to a deal with Harvard University that would include a $500 million payment by the Ivy League institution, after months of negotiations over school policies. The administration has been wrangling with several prestigious universities, threatening to withhold federal funds over issues including pro-Palestinian protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, campus diversity and transgender policies. “We are in the process of getting very close,” Trump told reporters at an event in the Oval Office. “Linda is finishing up the final details,” he said, referring to Education Secretary Linda McMahon. “And they’ll be paying about $500 million and they’ll be operating trade schools. They’re going to be teaching people how to do AI and lots of other things, engines, lots of things,” he said.
8. Hundreds of migrants mount protest in southern Mexico in bid to legalize status
A group of about 1,200 migrants set out walking before dawn in southern Mexico on Wednesday aiming for the capital where they hoped to legalize their immigration status and find more work opportunities after a long frustrating wait near the Guatemala border. Cubans made up the majority of the migrants, but there were also people from Honduras, Ecuador, Brazil and Haiti. Unlike earlier migrant “caravans” with a goal to reach the United States, Wednesday’s group and others over the past year are trying to coerce Mexican authorities into speeding up the process for asylum and get out of southern Mexico where there are few work opportunities. The group of migrants appeared to have organized without a leader over social platforms where frustrated migrants rallied to try to walk their way out of southern Mexico.
9. SK Hynix shares hit 25-year high, Samsung also surges as chipmakers partner with OpenAI
Shares of South Korean chip heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix surged Thursday, a day after the two companies partnered with artificial-intelligence major OpenAI as part of the U.S. firm’s Stargate initiative. Samsung shares hit their highest since January 2021, rising over 4%, while SK Hynix stock surged more than 9% — highest since 2000. OpenAI said in a statement that this partnership will “focus on increasing the supply of advanced memory chips essential for next-generation AI and expanding data centre capacity in Korea.” The ChatGPT-maker said the two South Korean firms plan to scale up production of advanced memory chips, which are critical to power its AI models. The announcement came as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Seoul, and the top leaders at Samsung and SK Hynix.
10. Intel stock pops 7% on news company is in early talks to add AMD as a customer
Intel is in early talks with AMD to manufacture chips for it in its foundry business, according to a report from Semafor. Intel shares rose 7% on Wednesday. AMD shares were up over 1%. If AMD were to start manufacturing chips with Intel, it would be a significant win for the company’s foundry business, which is currently seeking big customers. Analysts say that a big customer would allow Intel Foundry to confidently invest in developing its manufacturing technology and would send a signal to other chip companies that Intel can handle their business. It would also signal that AMD, which competes with Intel in x86-based chips for PCs and servers, is confident doing its manufacturing with its biggest competitor. Intel shares are up nearly 77% so far in 2025 as investors gain more confidence in the chipmaker.
11. US government takes 5% stakes in Lithium Americas and joint venture with GM
The U.S. Department of Energy has taken a 5% stake in Lithium Americas and a separate 5% stake in the company’s Thacker Pass joint venture with General Motors that is set to be the largest lithium source in the Western Hemisphere. The deal, announced by Lithium Americas, marks the latest private sector investment by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. It follows U.S. government acquisitions in Intel and MP Materials, as the government attempts to boost industries it considers vital to national security. U.S.-listed shares in Lithium Americas jumped 23% to $7.03 in Wednesday trading. Last week, Reuters reported that administration officials were in discussions with Lithium Americas about an equity stake as they renegotiated the terms of a $2.26 billion government loan for the Nevada-based mining project.
12. BYD’s quarterly car sales fall for first time since 2020, data shows
BYD’s third-quarter sales fell 2.1% from a year earlier, according to Reuters’ calculations based on a company filing released on Wednesday, the first quarterly decline for the Chinese EV and hybrid car maker in more than five years. The Chinese market leader sold 1.106 million cars in the three months to the end of September, the company data showed, marking the first fall since the second quarter of 2020 when businesses were disrupted by the outbreak of COVID. BYD sold 5.88% fewer cars in September than a year ago, the first monthly fall since February 2024, and the company cut its output by a further 8.47% last month, extending a trend of lower production at its mega factories. BYD HAS CUT ITS 2025 SALES TARGET The slowdown adds to signs that BYD’s era of record-setting expansion, fuelled by government support for electric vehicle adoption, could be drawing to a close.